(bdw-l-20) Finding Friendship II: Earth Shattering
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Toshiro told himself that leading the Shinigami Kid's Society was no different then leading the tenth division. The thought of working with those his own age was at first pushed into the back of his mind. He slowly finds himself not so sure of himself, particularly when he starts putting together the Shinigami Kid's Society's first activity outside of meetings.
1. The Walrus and

_Disclaimer – I don't own Bleach. This is the sequel to Finding Friendship. Special dedication to Lucanite and her story Shinigami Kids Society for the inspiration for this story._

**Finding Friendship II  
>Earth Shattering<br>_Of Walruses and..._**

A golden sunlight fell upon the desk by the window as dust motes floated in the afternoon air. The golden light also fell upon the woman working at the desk and lit up her strawberry blonde hair with a glow. The small taicho of the tenth division slid down where he was sitting on the couch, causing the cushions to let out a squelching sound. The child's limbs hung to his side as his thin fingers remained still.

The young taicho's head was muddled – in part his mind was muddled because of the events that occurred. He didn't want to think about being turned into a zombie, or the girl with purple hair he had met not that long ago. Instead his mind focused on the last part of the conversation that he had with Rangiku a few minutes ago when she told him that adults could be cruel. His head tilted to the side as he looked at her. "_I still don't understand._"

"_What is it that you don't understand?"_

"_Why are adults cruel?_" The young taicho's question was met with silence. "_I mean... look at Matsumoto... she is an angel. She never has treated me cruelly, both other adults have._"

"_A few minutes ago you were complaining that she was being mean for not letting you do the paperwork. You're also trying to avoid thinking about other things you should be thinking about._"

"_Like what?_"

"_Like the fact you are the president of the Shinigami Kid's Society._"

The color left the young taicho's face just in time for Rangiku to look up. Her cheerful face quickly fell to worry. "Taicho... is something the matter?"

"No... nothing is the matter."

The sound of scuffling feet caused the young taicho to move so he was peering over the back of the couch. Toshiro leaned into the couch as he spoke making it so that his voice was muffled. "Kurosaki..."

Ichigo blinked a couple of times as he looked at the young taicho. His brown eyes were wide with surprise as his mouth twisted up into a confused smile. "Toshiro?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho."

"Are you feeling better?" The orange haired teen's voice strained.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Toshiro... part of the tenth division is frozen over. I was worried you'd left your room because you were attacked, or something."

"I wasn't attacked."

"Taicho!" Rangiku's voice went up making it so that both young men looked at her. The woman stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "If you weren't attacked... then explain what happened?"

Toshiro's teal colored eyes blinked a couple of times. "I was playing?

Ichigo took a deep breath and walked over to the small taicho. He placed his hands on the white haired child's shoulders. "Come on Toshiro... we might as well be heading back to your quarters."

The fukutaicho of the tenth let out a sigh as she sat back down. "He's going to the Shinigami Kid's Society tomorrow. Please have him ready to go." Toshiro's mouth opened to protest what she said just as her head snapped up. "You weren't exactly well behaved today, so don't try any kind of argument to get out of it."

The child taicho let out a sigh and stood up with his hands behind his head. Ichigo watched him carefully as they headed back to the captain's quarters. "You're acting strangely?"

Toshiro's arms dropped to his side as the corners of his mouth also dropped. He turned his head to look at the orange haired teen. "How so?"

"To be honest... I can't place it. Just this morning you couldn't leave the room, now you're acting like you're completely fine." Ichigo watched as two teal eyes blinked a couple of times. "Wait... you're actually not... are you?"

Toshiro blinked a couple of times before shaking his head indicating that he didn't wish to speak anymore on the topic. The young taicho plopped onto the bed when they arrived back at the room and let out a sigh of relief. His hands tucked behind his head. His facial features twisted up suddenly as something hit him. "Wait... where is Vorarlberna. He was here when it happened."

"I don't know. I can find out if you want me to."

"Don't worry. I can find out myself." Toshiro swung his legs over the edge of the bed and reached for his soul phone. His fingers quickly dialed the number before placing it to his ear. A clicking sound was heard. "Hello?"

"So you've escaped the witch's clutches?_"_

"Witch? You mean Matsumoto? She's not a witch."

"_That was a joke... you missed it again._"

"I... you are all right, are you not?"

"_I'm fine. You seem in a better mood now. Does this mean you can play video games tomorrow?_"

Toshiro's teal eyes began to dart around in an attempt to find an answer. They eventually fell upon an orange haired teen who simply crossed his arms and frowned at the boy. The young taicho swallowed realizing that he needed to give an answer to the question. "I can't. I have to attend the Shinigami Kids Society meeting tomorrow."

"_Why? It's not as if you want to go. I'm not going to do anything I don't want to._"

"Don't you have any kind of obligations?"

"_To my businessmen... I should probably make a trip to the living world to handle some of that tomorrow. Particularly since I am likely to be otherwise bored with what is going on here._"

"Yes... well, you have your job and I have mine." Toshiro heard silence from the other side of the phone. It clicked off and the white haired youth let out a sigh. "I honestly don't get him."

"You don't get him? I wonder if anybody really gets Yukio. At least he doesn't mean any harm... though truth be told he's likely to cause problems without meaning to do so. Best that he not be coming to the meetings and activities. It would honestly give you more work then you really need."

Toshiro frowned before shaking his head. "You really think that I have a lot of work cut out for me?"

"Toshiro... there are people protesting the Shinigami Kid's Society. Some of the members haven't wanted to come back from what I've heard. Then there is Yachiru... she apparently has been a problem. She's been dressing in weird outfits that have upset some of the other children."

"That doesn't seem so bad." Toshiro shook his head at the teen. "Really... I don't see how I'll have a problem. It shouldn't be any different then running a division."

"Toshiro..." Ichigo's brown eyes were wide for some reason Toshiro couldn't place. The orange haired teen then shook his head. "I really don't think you understand what you're getting into."

Toshiro's teal eyes widened as the boy swallowed. "You don't think I can do it."

"That's not..."

"Look... I need to change for bed."

"What about dinner?"

"Matsumoto already made sure I ate while I was in the office. She wouldn't let me do any paperwork though."

"Toshiro... do you understand why she's not letting you do any paperwork?"

Toshiro's eyebrows went up as he scowled at Ichigo. The orange haired teen let out a sigh before heading out of the room. The white haired youth shook his head as he pushed his lips together.

**M**

A soft drizzle fell as Toshiro headed to the Shinigami Kids Society meeting. The sun was out despite the rain drizzling down causing a rainbow to appear in the sky. Two teal eyes took in the sight and breathed as sigh of relief as he stepped into the room. Nobody happened to be there as he stepped into the room. His eyes darted around wondering why when Yachiru came hurtling through the door.

"Good day Aniki!" The pink haired blur streaked into the room without wearing any clothing.

"Good day... why aren't you wearing any clothing Kusajishi?"

"We're at the eleventh division. I always do this."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "_She always does this? Why haven't I heard of this before? And she's in a division filled with male Shinigami... surely this isn't appropriate?"_ The young taicho blinked a couple of times. "Actually... you need to be wearing clothes for the meeting."

"All right! Flower-chan is coming in!"

"Ah... you mean Yamada..." Toshiro turned to see the young Shinigami from the forth division. He blinked a couple of times as his mouth twisted up into a frown. A short choking sound was heard as he looked at the forth seat. "Err... when did you grow a mustache?"

"What are you talking about Hitsugaya Taicho?"

"You..." Toshiro pointed at the mustache and shook his head. Hanataro went and began to prepare tea for everybody.

"Do you want anything?"

"Coffee..."

"The pot is over there."

Toshiro sighed and turned to the pot of coffee. He tipped the pot over into his cup of tea and watched it begin to fill... except the cup wouldn't fill. He turned his head to look at Hanataro only to find his eyes widen. A rather large purple walrus was now on the table. "_Stuffed animal? Where did it... no... it's real._"

His head twisted around to see that his cup of coffee was now overflowing and it wouldn't stop. A puddle of coffee began to form at his feet. He turned his head to look at the purple walrus again. Two teal eyes widened upon realizing that the purple walrus that was once real was now a stuffed animal. He shook his head only to see the stuffed animal come to life. "When did..."

"It's always been there Aniki!" Toshiro blinked a couple of times as Yachiru appeared riding the purple walrus. The girl was also now wearing a purple walrus costume. The boy turned to look at Hanataro only to let out a yelp when he saw that the older boy now had a purple walrus head. The young taicho sat up in bed, his breath coming in a rapid manner. "Purple walrus with yellow mustache!"

"Toshiro..."

The boy turned his head to see Ichigo was waking up. "I..."

"You had a nightmare?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. You're here... so I'm not supposed to be having nightmares." The young taicho could feel a cold sweat break out across his entire body. "_And yet I had one..._"

Ichigo let out a sigh before reaching a hand to scratch his head. "Toshiro..."

"It didn't."

"Toshiro... you woke up and said 'purple walrus with yellow mustache'. What was that about?"

"It..." The young taicho looked away. "I'm not going to the meeting."

"Say what?"

"You heard me Kurosaki."


	2. Stubborness Prevails

**Finding Friendship II  
>Earth Shattering<br>_Stubbornness Prevails_**

An icy flare of rieatsu caused Ichigo to pause and look towards the tenth division as he started back from delivering papers to the other divisions. He turned back to the captain of the second division to see that Soifon was glaring at him as he held the papers out to her as she sat in the bed assigned to her by Isane. The orange haired teen shoved the papers towards the woman. "Well... here."

"Excuse me?"

Ichigo's mouth dropped open as he stared at the woman. "This is the paperwork that I was asked to bring you."

"That isn't what I meant. If you're going to be helping out around here then you need to at least have some sense of propriety. You can't just walk up to a captain and thrust the paperwork at them."

"Yes... but..." Ichigo looked towards the tenth division as the corners of his mouth turned down.

"It's bad enough that I'm still stuck in here because of my injuries. I should be well enough to return back to my division. I bet that fukutaicho of mine is letting the paperwork pile up."

The orange haired teen's head turned back to the woman and his brown eyes blinked a couple of times. His mouth opened a couple of times before saying what came to mind. "You're as bad as Toshiro is rumored to be."

"I hope you're referring to the fact I am worrying about my division going to pieces while I am sitting here and not something help Kurosaki."

Two brown eyes rolled back into his head as he waved the stack of papers at the female taicho. "Here.."

"I told you..."

"I'm not one for priorities and such nonsense. I'm for getting things done. I also have other things that I have to worry about." Ichigo watched as the second division taicho glared at him, but choose to ignore her. He flash stepped out of the room and headed back to the tenth division. He skidded to a stop upon seeing the ice pouring over the wall. The teen shook his head at the mess. "_What happened here?_"

The orange haired teen headed to Toshiro's room to find that it was empty. The members of the tenth division worked away at the ice that was covering the walls. He headed in the direction he felt Toshiro's rieatsu coming from in hopes that the ice covering the walls wasn't throwing off his senses. He found himself stepping into the office where Rangiku was working on the paperwork. The orange haired teen saw that the young taicho was slouching on the couch with a rather bored look on his face. "Toshiro?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho."

Two brown eyes blinked a couple of times. "_He's responded like he normally does. Does that mean that he is back to normal?"_ Ichigo opened his mouth. "Are you feeling better?" The orange haired teen found the can of worms he opened to be confusing as Toshiro mentioned things like not actually being attacked as well as playing. He found himself quite glad when the young taicho didn't argue about going with him back to the room. He couldn't help but be worried.

Ichigo couldn't help but think that no matter how much Toshiro said he could handle the leading Shinigami Kids Society meetings.

The orange haired teen took a deep breath and lay down on the bed. "_No point in worrying about things that __I__ have no control over. __He's going to be stubborn about this._"

The youth pulled his arms behind his head and fell into a relaxed sleep. He startled awake when he heard something strange next to him. "_Did Toshiro just say 'purple walrus with yellow mustache?"_

Ichigo's white zampaktuo spirit let out a chuckle. "He certainly did so king."

The orange haired teen sat up and looked at Toshiro as his mouth twisted up into a frown. Asking whether Toshiro had a nightmare caused the outburst caused another outburst to occur, which in turn caused Ichigo's mouth to turn down into a frown. The young taicho was caught in a predicament and honestly didn't like it. "It..." Two wide, bright teal eyes looked at Ichigo with a look of horror. "I'm not going to the meeting."

"Say what?" Ichigo felt his frown deepen.

"You heard me Kurosaki."

A sigh escaped Ichigo's as one hand went up to scratch his head. The other hand reached out to grab the back of Toshiro's clothing in order to haul him out of bed. "You're going."

The look of shock on Toshiro's face made Ichigo want to laugh, but if he laughed the young taicho would become even more of a problem then he already was. A pat on the young taicho's back made the boy step towards where his clothes were located. The mouth of the child taicho opened and closed before twisting up into a deep frown. Toshiro's eyebrows went down and his voice strained. "I'm _not _going! What don't you understand about..."

"... Rangiku throwing a fit if you don't go as well as quite a few of the other taicho?" Ichigo watched as the color left Toshiro's face and the boy refused to remove. "You know what? You haven't had a nice bath in a few days. The meeting isn't until this afternoon, so why don't you go ahead and take a bath? You may feel better and more like going. Either way you're not getting out of going." Ichigo folded his arms across his chest as he watched the boy glare at him. "_Seriously.. does he think staring at me long enough will in fact make me give in._"

"_I think he is thinking that way my king._"

Ichigo let out another sigh as his brown eyes narrowed. "Toshiro... I'm not going to put up with you doing this. Go take a bath."

The young taicho glared for a bit more before letting out a frustrated sigh. The orange haired teen found himself watching as the young taicho reluctantly picked out clothing to change into after his bath. Ichigo watched as Toshiro headed to the bathroom that he and Rangiku used and proceeded to follow. The young taicho shot a nasty glare back at the physically older teen causing the orange haired youth to cross his arms. "Sorry Toshiro, but I can't trust you not to try and take off just to avoid the meeting. I'm keeping on you until this afternoon."

The young taicho continued to glare before spinning on his heals to walk over to the bathroom. The door slammed in Ichigo's face causing the orange haired teen to let out a sigh. He turned around to lean up against the wall. His brown eyes caught sight of a worried Rangiku coming his way. "Where is taicho?"

"He's in the bathroom preparing for the Kid's Society this afternoon."

"I'm glad. There is food for you in the room. I'll make sure to bring lunch by before he's supposed to go to the meeting." Rangiku's bright blue eyes looked in the direction of the young taicho's bedroom with a worried look on her face. She shook her head suddenly and told the orange haired teen that she was getting back to work in the office.

A few minute later the door creaked open and Ichigo tilted his head back to look at the young taicho. The boy's hair was soaking wet and he was wearing his complete uniform. The child taicho rubbed his start white hair with a towel. "Is this good enough?"

"Toshiro... you're not supposed to wear your uniform to the meeting."

"You can't make me change Kurosaki... and it's Hitsugaya Taicho!"

"Why do you always do that when you're moody." Ichigo's brown eyes rolled back into his head as the young taicho brushed past him. "There is a rule about revealing your rank as well as wearing uniforms to the meeting."

"What ever..."

"So you want them to know that you're a captain." Ichigo twisted around and began to walk back with the young taicho only to find himself crashing into the Toshiro's back as the boy froze. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No... I mean. I don't want them to know I am a captain. If I did they would be.." The young taicho's mouth twisted up so he was worrying his bottom lip. "I mean to say that I couldn't trust them to be chumming up to me because I'm a captain, right?"

"You want them to like you for yourself then?" A smile spread across Ichigo's face.

"I didn't say that, and you know that."

"What ever you say Toshiro."

"The solution is that I don't go."

"I will carry you to the meeting if I have to." Ichigo watched as the young taicho's white head of hair turned towards him. Two bright teal eyes glared at the orange haired teen revealing just how irritated the white haired child happened to be. He watched as Toshiro walked towards the room and slipped in. The door slammed in his face and locked from the inside. The orange haired teen frowned and scratched his head. Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "Toshiro... this isn't funny."

A piece of paper slipped under the door. On the paper was the word 'wait'. Another sigh came out of the orange haired teens mouth. He waited a few minutes and tried the door again only to have his frown deepen.

His white zampaktuo spirit chuckled. "_You could just break down the door if you have to._"

"_I could... but I would rather not have to do that if I don't have to. In fact... I don't want to even mention it as it might give him the idea of locking the door and perhaps even putting up one of those kido spells like Rukia does. I'll use it when I absolutely need to." _Ichigo knocked on the door using his knuckles before trying the door again. This time it slid open and he peeked in to see what Toshiro was up to.

The young taicho was sitting on the bed eating away at his breakfast. The clothing the white haired youth wore was no longer his uniform, but a kimono that matched his eyes. Toshiro's mouth twisted up into a frown as he glared at Ichigo. "I changed because it will be more comfortable then my uniform, not because you threatened to drag me to the meeting. Of which I'm not going."

Ichigo took a deep breath before heading over to the bed and grabbing his own food. The room was beginning to feel crowded. He sat down and ate a few bites before speaking again. "You're going."

"Nope."

The clock ticked away causing Ichigo to wish that the meeting was there. Toshiro didn't seem bothered by the fact the time for the meeting was getting closer and actually went to playing the video games. He reached for his phone only to have it grabbed by Ichigo. "You were thinking of calling Yukio after you told him yesterday that you wouldn't be able to play games."

"Playing video games makes for a nicer distraction." The child taicho turned to look at him with bright teal eyes opened wide. "Do you want to play?"

"Toshiro... are you trying to make me forget what time it is as well?" Ichigo shook his head and leaned back. "It's not going to work."

"It's worth trying."

"Not when Rangiku is going to bring lunch before you have to go."

"Matsumoto always forgets things like that. That's why I always get stuck doing the paperwork."

"So she forgets to make sure you eat your meals?"

Ichigo watched as Toshiro looked away as he thought about what the orange haired teen said. The child taicho let out a deep sigh. "You're right. She's always pestering me to eat three meals a day. It's annoying."

"Toshiro... you really do need to eat three meals a day."

The young taicho ignored Ichigo and instead went back to playing the game with a frown on his face. Rangiku eventually brought lunch and eyed her small taicho in a wary manner. Ichigo picked at his food as he looked at the clock only for his eyes to drift over to where Toshiro had switched to killing Mario on purpose.. He shook his head. "Toshiro... it's time to go."

"I told you. I'm not going."

The orange haired teen stood up and walked over to the game system and pushed the power button. He looked up to see a look of shock on the small taicho's face. "Come on Toshiro..."

The young taicho set down the controller and glared at the orange haired teen. "Seriously... I'm not..."

Ichigo moved quickly and scooped the young taicho up under his arms. "You're going."

"Put me down!"

"Are you going to walk to the meeting on your own?" The orange haired teen scooped Toshiro's sandals on the way out the door.

"Of course not. I'm not going to mess with that crazy business."

Ichigo shook his head as he headed to the eleventh division as Toshiro struggled. "_I'm glad that the eleventh division isn't that far from the tenth division. He's being such a pain._"

He stopped short outside when he saw six members of the eleventh division. Seeing the members of the eleventh guarding the entry way to the eleventh division caused Toshiro to stop wiggling about in an attempt to escape. The young taicho also stopped speaking and instead blinked at the members of the eleventh division. Ichigo shook his head and quickly flash stepped to the room the men mentioned and set Toshiro down before taking a seat in one of the chairs. He let his arms slide down.

Hanataro was already bustling about the room tidying things up while Yachiru bustled about showing off her candy supply to two other children that Ichigo didn't know. He turned his head to look at Toshiro only to see that the young taicho had a look of horror on his face.


	3. Past Once Escaped

**Finding Friendship II  
>Earth Shattering<br>_Past Once Escaped_**

The students at the academy moved around between classes with their usual gossiping. Most of the gossip occurred between the female students as they stood in the halls between classes until a glare from the teachers sent them scuttling one their way. Gossiping also occurred in the classes among the female students as the rumor mill kept churning. None of the students cared whether the what they were talking about was true or not, the attraction of supposed secrets drawing them in.

The students luck enough to make it into the Shinigami Kids Society also found themselves sought out whether they were male or female. Kamoku Hana's brown eyes looked out the window as she sat in the classroom waiting for the class to start. The first year female's mind drifted off and she didn't notice the girls approaching her. She simply blinked at them when they asked what the club was like causing Terunori Inaba to come to her rescue.

The second year Akimoto Kumiko though lavished the attention she received with her cheeks flushed with excitement. "The club is sophisticated to say the least." The word "sophisticated" caused giggles to come from the mouths of the other girls. "I'm not sure if I can explain it... the girls from the Rukon honestly don't seem to get it at all." A clicking sound was heard as another student was over heard by the group of girls causing them to turn their heads to see the other second year that had been selected glaring at them as he passed. Kumiko's nose wrinkled up. "What?"

"For someone from a noble family you certainly don't act like a noble." This comments caused irritated comments from the girls only to be ignored by the boy.

The two females from the third year looked at each other in an uncomfortable manner when asked during their passing times. One of their answers was, "I don't know... there were some Shinigami out protesting the club the other day."

"Not sure if we'll be going back as it made us uncomfortable, seeing those protestors."

One of the comments back was, "... but Akimoto-sama says the club is _so_ sophisticated."

Honzo Kawasawa took a more cocky attitude along with his lackey Kanzaburo Takusa that also managed to get in. He leaned back as a few girls surrounded him. "I'm not sure what to say about the club. It should have been a way to climb up the ranks, but it honestly ended up being a joke. Well... I can see why the girls happen to like the club as it has things that they would like. I'm honestly not sure what is going through the head of the Shinigami leadership."

The fifth year students were even less sure of how they felt then the third year girls. Yamaguchi Hirotada choose to not say anything as did Hashi Miki. After class on Thursday she headed to the weekly meeting for her secret club. She saw the other girls gossiping when she entered the club room designated for use by the administration of the academy. A few of the girls looked towards her in a manner that showed disdain.

Her normal routine of opening up the meeting changed to a different route. "Is something the matter?"

Hirotada's question was met with silence at first, and then the girls began to gossip with each other. The vice president of the club took a deep breath. "Well... there is no way to honestly get around this. They want you to step down and renounce your membership in the club, or to renounce your membership with the Shinigami Kids Society."

The sixth years eyes narrowed. "They? Who is they? Surely not the club."

The club secretary looked at the ground. "They includes us. We don't want to go against the sempai members of the club."

Hirotada folded her arms across her chest as she thought carefully of what they meant. "You mean the members who graduated? They're not members anymore once they graduate and don't have a say in the club."

"Why not?" One of the forth years frowned. "They're our sempai and our sempai's sempai. We should still respect them. I mean... we wouldn't have the club if they kept it going."

The vice-president refused to look her in the eye. "They don't agree with the fact the Quincy are allowed in the club. I think that we should respect that wish, particularly since Hitsugaya Taicho hasn't shown his support for the club in the first place. Obviously he doesn't support the club as he hasn't shown up."

"That doesn't mean anything as there are many reasons he hasn't shown up." Hirotada shook her head. "For example, he is a captain after all and has plenty of work to do. They're trying to use this club for their own political reasons as well as Hitsugaya Taicho. Can't you see that isn't right? Plus... the entire former membership that has graduated can't possibly be part of the protest. The teachers are behind the club as well as the captains."

"Couldn't they be using Hitsugaya Taicho as well to further their political agenda?"

Hirotada's eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't assume what their agenda is in regards to the club. We've not had problems with the Quincy girls that have shown up."

"Then you haven't heard about how one of the Quincy females attacked Hitsugaya Taicho the other day."

"Where did you get that information from?"

"The former member asking you to step down from this club, or that club."

"Then it is biased. I'm not stepping down at this point in time, particularly since the club has been going on only a week."

The chair that the vice president sat in screeched as she stood up and walked out the door. The other girls in the club stood up and left. Hirotada stood there for a short period of time before going and sitting in a chair and reading a book.

The hot bath steamed over the young taicho's shoulders as he looked at the ceiling. In the back of his mind he kept hearing the voice of his zampaktuo spirit for not only being childish and stubborn, but also being fearful. The thought that kept going through his head was the fact he had been fearful ever since he had been turned into a zombie. Death once didn't scare him, but now it did. He sunk into the bath until he knew he could take it no more.

A lecture came from Ichigo about not wearing his uniform, then lecture after lecture came. The emotional feeling he felt was a searing ache in the pit of his stomach along with a feeling he couldn't help but describe as guilt. Then came the embarrassment of being carried under Ichigo's arm like a child as well as the shock at seeing the eleventh division members lined up like they were. Another feeling came to him, that of confusion.

Ichigo set him down in the room and he made up his mind to try and push his fears and anxieties away. He could hear Hanataro and Yachiru's voices and the familiarity felt calming. He turned to look at them with his bright teal eyes, only to suddenly feel the color leave his face as he saw the two others that the other Shinigami children had been talking to. Ichigo was unaware of the situation and just leaned back in his chair.

Toshiro swallowed as he looked at the two.

Ichigo eventually looked up and saw the look on the young taicho's face. "Toshiro?"

Two brown eyes then looked in the direction that Toshiro couldn't stop looking in as he continued to sit in the chair. His arms went behind his head as he tried to figure out what was going on and saw that the two children that Yachiru had been talking to were also staring at Toshiro. The looks on their faces were also looks of horror. Hanataro turned his head and noticed something was wrong as he pulled on the uniform he was not supposed to be wearing, but Yachiru noticed nothing but the fact Toshiro had come. "Aniki!" The girl hopped down off the chair. "You made it. Are you feeling better?"

"I guess you could say that." Toshiro's bright eyes watched the two other children as their facial features changed. The female's face became one of confusion, but the boy's became even more horrified. He finally looked away and crossed his arms across his chest as the icy shell he was so used to showing suddenly came up full force.

Yachiru came over and hopped up onto the chair next to him. "Let's play dress up today! Since we're in the eleventh division we have stuff to dress up in."

"Wha..." The female from the academy began to stammer before looking away.

Toshiro's eyes widened before blinking a couple of times. His voice was low so that only she could hear him. "Kusajishi... what kind of activities have you been having the club do?"

Yachiru's eyes blinked a couple of times before she smiled at him. "Cute things of course! We've played lots of games. Not the games Ken-chan likes to play though."

Ichigo's face suddenly paled. "Kenpachi isn't around is he?"

The young fukutaicho of the eleventh division stared at him. "Ken-chan promised he wouldn't come in and play with the members of the Shinigami Kids Society. He has to play with others today and those who didn't want to had to stand guard."

The young male from the academy swallowed. "Wait... you mean Kenpachi... as in the captain of the tenth division? Isn't he... you know... scary?"

"Ken-chan? He's no more scary then Aniki or Re-chan is."

Toshiro turned his head and examined Yachiru carefully. The girl wasn't wearing a walrus costume and instead dressed in an elf costume meant for Christmas time. "Also... Kusajishi... what are you wearing?"

"I'm wearing what I want to wear. Kotetchin said I could wear what I want so long as I didn't wear my uniform."

"Yes... but don't you think that you're making others uncomfortable?" The young taicho could feel his voice strain. "_I don't want to talk in front of those two._

Yachiru blinked a couple of times. "How so?"

"Most of the students from the academy aren't going to be used to the kind of clothing you are wearing. Many are from the Rukongai. You know as well as I what is worn their."

"Oh! That makes sense! I'll go change!" The spot she had been sitting in was a blur and she was gone.

Toshiro swallowed and stared at the table instead of looking at the two children. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of both of them looking at Ichigo. The male spoke up. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

The small female said something that Toshiro couldn't hear and the male let out a sigh. "She wants to know why you're here. You look to old to be a member of the Shinigami Kids Society."

"I actually am too old. Pretend I'm not here."

Again Toshiro caught something out of the corner of his eye. The boy frowned and folded his arms across his chest. "Since you're not a member, you can tell us what division you're a member of."

"I'm actually technically not a member of any division."

"_Kurosaki... you idiot._"

"What do you mean?"

Toshiro took a deep breath and spoke a little louder. "He's what is called a Substitute Shinigami."

"And that means."

The young taicho swallowed instead of answering. Hanataro began to mutter like he usually did. "Kurosaki Ichigo is from the world of the living."

"Not possible. I mean..."

"It's complicated. I may explain it another time. Instead focus on having fun."

Toshiro looked up at the orange haired teen just in time to see a typical Shiba smirk spread across Ichigo's face. Hanataro muttered again. "Hitsugaya-kun, why don't you introduce yourself."

"That..."

"We both actually know who he is."

"What?" Hanataro's voice made it clear he was confused.

Ichigo shook his head. "Wait... how so?"

"We're actually from the same part of the Rukongai."


	4. Of Dreams and Aspirations

**Finding Friendship II  
>Earth Shattering<br>_Of Dreams and Aspirations_**

The orange haired teen thought Toshiro would be fine despite the fact he knew the young taicho was nervous about interacting with his own age group. The look of horror on Toshiro's face said that something was seriously wrong. Yachiru ignored the fact the young taicho was bothered by something despite the fact Hanataro in fact did. The young fukutaicho hopped up by the child taicho and began to chat with him quite loudly while Toshiro's voice was quite meek.

Eventually Ichigo introduced himself which led to Hanataro trying to introduce Toshiro to the other two. "We both actually know who he is." Ichigo inquired into this as Hanataro voiced his shock. "We're actually from the same part of the Rukongai."

Ichigo stared at the two children and carefully watched their reactions. Neither could look Toshiro in the eye anymore then the young taicho could look them in the eye. There was a slight flinching from fear when the boy tried looking up at Toshiro. The girl on the other hand acted in the same manner Ichigo recollected Orihime typically acting. Neither three from Junrinan spoke for a good period of time.

Yachiru's voice broke the silence as she reappeared in a gray kimono. "What was aniki like when he was a _really_ little kid?"

The teen from the living world watched the looks of horror that appeared on all three faces of the children from the Junrinan. "That's not really appropriate for this point in time."

The member of the Shiba clan watched with his brown eyes as the children fidgeted slightly and a quiet fell over the room. Two other males came into the room only to stop just inside the doorway. The reaction of the two boy's to Toshiro was much different then the other children. One of the males narrowed his eyes. "All right – whose the squirt."

"Kawasawa!" The male who came from the same part of the Rukon as Toshiro stood up as his chair scrapped backwards.

"What … he's just a harmless squirt." The male pulled his arms closer and let out a shiver. "Hey, is it just me, or did it get colder in here?"

The corners of Ichigo's mouth twisted down as he pushed his foot forward to nudge Toshiro. The boy jolted up slightly and glared at Ichigo. The young taicho looked down at the table again as his small fingers twiddled against the edge of his chair. Yachiru popped up onto the chair beside Toshiro. "This is _my _Aniki."

The two boy's looked at Toshiro before letting out chuckles and heading to the other side of the table. The young man from the same part of the Rukon district eyed them warily. Rin slipped into the room and opened his mouth. "Ah... Hitsugaya Ta..." The boy stopped short upon seeing the look out of Toshiro's eye and the horrified look on Hanataro's face. "... Toshiro." The boy paused. "It's good to see you."

Toshiro's head nodded slightly once just as Shino and Ryunosuke came through the door. Shino glared at Toshiro before tugging on Ryunosuke's sleeve to pull him over to where she wanted to sit. Soon after another young male came through the door. Ichigo watched as Toshiro's eyes suddenly went wide and the other young male had a look of utter shock upon his face. This young man walked over to the two who came from the same part of the Rukon as Toshiro and whispered into the other boy's ear.

Another set of youth came into the room. The female of the group's facial features twisted up in delight upon seeing Toshiro, but this time the young taicho didn't act like he knew her. Yet another female came into the room. Her blue eyes fluttered suddenly. "Oh... you. I haven't seen you before." Ichigo watched as Toshiro leaned back and the young taicho's mouth twisted up from confusion and frustration. The girl ignored his discomfort and moved in close. "You must be the club president."

Toshiro opened his mouth to say something only to find himself interrupted by a female voice. "Hey! You! Move!"

Ichigo turned his head to see that a purple haired female had stepped into the room. The girl wore the Quincy uniform, but no other girls were with her. She pulled out a chair from the table and turned it around so she could sit in it backwards. Her violet eyes roved around the room while she scowled at everyone. Her eyes then stopped upon Ichigo. "What are you looking at."

"Nothing." Ichigo leaned back so that his arms were behind his back as she looked at the ceiling. "_I swear... she's like the opposite of Toshiro._" The teen blinked a couple of times. "_Wait... this wouldn't happen to be the young Quincy that Toshiro got into a fight with._"

"_He didn't get into a fight with her. Don't you remember king? They were 'playing'."_

"_It honestly bothers me that you and Toshiro both consider that playing._"

Ichigo chose then to sit up and watch what was going on. A hand reached out and tugged his sleeve. Turning his head he saw the purple haired female glaring at him. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Oh... the half breed." This comment caused the heads of the others to suddenly turn to look at her in confusion.

"I guess you could say that."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times before daring up to the clock. He cleared his throat and spoke up despite the fact he was nervous about the entire situation. He stood up and let his chair creek as it moved away from the table. "The clock says it's time for the meeting to start, so I'll get started."

Ichigo watched as the boy's eyes looked at the ground and Toshiro remained silent. "I guess the best place to start would be to introduce ourselves."

"Don't we already know each other?" The boy that had called Toshiro short watched folded his arms in front of his chest. "Oh... wait... you didn't show up the first two meetings." The orange haired teen folded his own arms across his chest. Ichigo watched as Toshiro looked at the boy and could see the tired look in the young taicho's eyes. The child taicho said something that couldn't be heard. "What, I can't hear you?"

Hanataro spoke up. "He asked if we had actually introduced ourselves the first day. We didn't."

Shino leaned back in her chair. "He's right you know. None of us introduced ourselves."

"So what? We're going to file rank and number here? I thought that wasn't allowed."

Toshiro cleared his throat and spoke louder. "We can ask other kinds of questions."

"And you're going to choose?"

The young taicho took a deep breath and looked towards Ichigo. The orange haired teen frowned as Toshiro looked at him. "If that isn't favorable to you, then we can have the neutral party decide a question, or we can write questions down onto paper and draw from that. There can't be any questions asking what ones rank or division is."

Shino looked at Ichigo with a frown on her face. "So... what kind of question would you suggest asking."

"Well... since you guys are supposed to be the future of the Shinigami... how about a question regarding you're future dreams."

"I'm not supposed to be the future of the Shinigami. I'm supposed to be the future of the Quincy."

"Well... that to."

Toshiro looked at him carefully before looking around the room. "Any objections?" When none came he wrote it on the board. "Any volunteers to go first."

"My brother."

Everyone turned to look at the purple haired female. Toshiro looked at her. "Say what?"

"My brother."

"No... what is that even supposed to mean? It's not even a full sentence."

"Fine. My future dream is my brother."

"Wait..." Shino narrowed her eyes. "Do you mean something like your future dream is to _marry_ your brother? That's disgusting."

One of the purple haired girl's bombs went flying an exploded something behind Shino. Toshiro bristled. "None of that!"

"Fine... seriously... idiot doesn't know what I'm talking about."

"Excuse me!" Shino stood up as her chair scrapped the ground.

Ryunosuke tugged on her sleeve. "Shino... I think she could do you serious damage if you push this."

"Fine." The girl sat down. "My name is Shino. Yo. I want to be graceful like Kuchiki Fukutaicho."

"Wait..." The male who identified himself as being from Toshiro's home area. "I thought Kuchiki is a taicho?"

"What do you know! His sister was named a fukutaicho a year ago."

The other identified from the Rukon frowned. "Wait... but I thought Shiba Kaien was the fukutaicho. It says so in the books. The only reason..." The girl blinked a couple of times. "Wait! If some of the fukutaicho have died, does that mean your sister Momo-chan is dead."

A chocking sound was heard from Toshiro as one of his eyes twitched as did the corner of his mouth. "Hinamori? Hinamori is very... much... alive... Kamoku."

The girl let out a sigh of relief as Toshiro said something under her breath. "Oh... good. I like her."

The antagonistic young male pointed at Toshiro. "Wait... you're the foster brother of one of the fukutaicho?"

"I would rather not talk about that."

A slamming was heard as a chair suddenly hit the floor. The door then slammed behind the purple haired female. Rin let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good... she was making me nervous. Since you know Hinamori Taicho... is your dream to be like her too?"

"No..." The girl twiddled her thumbs. She suddenly stood up and saluted. "My name is Hana Kamoku... I mean Kamoku Hana. My future dream and asstoration is to make up for something I did wrong a long time ago!" Ichigo blinked a couple of times before clapping a hand over his mouth to prevent the laughter. The girl sat down with a thud as her cheeks turned pink. "That's it."

Another girl of similar age held a hand to her chest. "My name is Kumiko. I am the heir to the Akimoto clan. My future aspiration is to marry Hitsugaya Toshiro."

The temperature in the room dropped then and Toshiro's voice rose up as his body tensed up. "As if!"

The door to the room slammed open and the violet haired girl stormed back in. She sat down in her chair backwards and peeked over the edge of the chair. "What did I miss?"

"Just Akimoto-sama making another one of her ludicrous proposals." The boy hassling others leaned forward. "My dream is to become a great Shinigami. The presidency of the club would be a nice stepping stone, but perhaps next time."

His friend stood up. "I am Takasu Kanzaburo. I will see to it that Kawasawa Honzo's dreams come true."

One of Ichigo's eyebrows went up. The girl with the purple hair was still looking around as if she were trying to figure out something. The oldest girl took a deep breath. "I am Hashi Miki. My dream has to do with something I've made a promise to protect, but otherwise is a secret."

Honzo raised an eyebrow at the oldest of the boys that Ichigo didn't know. "Yamaguchi... what is your dream. Do you have aspirations to be a captain?"

"I guess people would think that because of my grades and in a way I guess I may eventually head in that direction. I'm more interested in learning about the world of the living and the social customs involved."

"Wait... aren't the customs in the world of the living the same as here?" The boy who spoke to Hana and the other child spoke up.

"Of course not. You would know that of course if you were from a noble family." Kumiko held a hand to her chest as she spoke.

The boy sighed. "I'm Ishio Minoru. The academy is pretty much the way out of the lives we have in the Rukon, so if we can take it we take it."

Yachiru stood up in her chair. "I want to have fun like Ken-chan!"

Many who knew who Ken-chan was had looks of horror, while the others had looks of confusion. One of Toshiro's eyebrows went up. Hanataro let out a deep sigh. "Well... I'm Yamada Hanataro. I guess my future dream since Unohana has passed is to learn Bankai." Looks of shocks were the prevalent look this time around. "What... is there something wrong with that?"

"No..." Toshiro titled his head slightly. "You mentioned the fact Unohana was dead."

"Not to mention the fact the idiot revealed which division he's from." Honzo rolled his eyes.

Hirotada tapped his fingers against the table. "Honzo... if you can't be polite... then leave."

The male shrunk down into his chair as he looked at everyone else, his arms folding across his chest. Toshiro took a deep breath. "Actually... knowing that Yamada is from the forth division is a good thing as he can serve as our medic if we choose to have any special activities."

The corners of Ichigo's mouth twisted up as he heard Toshiro's voice becoming more normal. "_Bet he doesn't realize he's falling into the flow of things._"

Honzo turned his head to look at the other child who claimed to be from the same area that Toshiro came from. "What about you Terunori? What's yours?"

Inaba took a deep breath. "My dream happens to be the youngest taicho ever."

A silence fell over the room. Ichigo's facial features twisted up. "_Doesn't he look older then Toshiro?_"

"_Yup King, he does._"

"_How come I'm talking to you more then the old man?_"

"_'cause old man doesn't have much to say._"

Rin took a deep breath. "My dream is to eat tons of candy."

Ryunosuke blinked a couple of times. "Mine too."

Yachiru stood up in her chair. "Me three."

Toshiro cleared his voice. "Now to move on..."

"Wait... you didn't say what you're dreams were." Honzo leaned forward. "What is your dream?"

Two teal eyes blinked a couple of times before looking at the ceiling. "You know... I really don't have any."

Honzo's friend frowned. "How can one not have any as a Shinigami?"

Toshiro took a deep breath. "No... honestly I don't. Let's move onto the next order of business."


	5. Feelings of Failure

**Finding Friendship II  
>Earth Shattering<br>_Feelings of Failure_**

The nervous feeling Toshiro felt about being the leader of the Shinigami Kids Society grew when he saw the two children from the same small village he came from in the Rukongai. "_Why would they want to have anything to do with me when they didn't want anything to do with me before?_"

"_Perhaps they have grown up after so many years. They are after all academy students now. Plus... Kamoku-san's not acting like she's afraid of you like Terunori-san is._"

"_I don't see a difference in the way they're reacting." Toshiro changed the subject. "I wish that you were here physically. Why did Kurosaki have to forget you! I do everything with you._"

"_You still are..._"

"_Why is it everything we Shinigami do like this end in disaster._"

"_You're saying it has ended in a disaster before it even has._"

"_Well... __precedent__ says it will._" The filling of discomfort didn't go away as other children came into the room. One of the children referred to his height and to his dismay another one of the children happened to be from the Rukongai. Watching how some of the Shinigami children reacted made him feel as if even they feared him. The purple haired Quincy also showed up and acted in a very unlady like manner.

"_I don't know many of these people."_

"_Then find a way to get to know them._"

"_Questions..._" Toshiro put forth his idea only to find his voice not projecting like he wanted to. Hanataro stepped in, and Ichigo provided the question.

Only for the Quincy girl to cause that idea to spiral downwards with, "my brother."

"_That makes no sense." _Even after she continued he kept thinking the same thing. It felt like things kept spiraling out of control. One young female proposed to him. He was surprised to hear Inaba's dream. "_He's older then me though..._" The feeling of self-doubt continued as did the feeling that things weren't going well. "Let's move onto the next order of business."

"Let's play a game! I've got Candyland!"

Toshiro turned so that his bright teal eyes were looking at Yachiru. "No... we're going to be discussing the things... activities and such... we want to do with this club."

"I want to eat candy, play games, do cute things."

"Yes... but not everybody does." Toshiro's eyes darted around to see that Honzo and his friend were giggling, while Inaba looked quite uncomfortable. Rin and Ryunosuke weren't paying attention to the comment.

Honzo folded his arms across his chest. "What kind of activities do we want to participate in? I want activities that can prepare me to advance through the Shinigami ranks. I mean... this club is for Shinigami."

The female with purple hair rolled her eyes. "I'm a Quincy dummy."

This comment made the other children in the room suddenly uncomfortable. Toshiro took a deep breath. "Does anyone have ideas on what we could do."

Everyone looked at him in silence. The purple haired female raised her hand. "I want to play paintball!"

The young Shinigami stared at her as did everyone else. "Does anyone else have any ideas?"

Again came the silence. Shino folded her arms. "Why don't you come up with something. You're the one whose in charge."

Toshiro took a deep breath. "If I were to choose an activity it would be taking a trip into the East Rukongai's cave structure tomorrow for the day." He watched as everyone looked at him with blank looks on their faces. The purple haired girl glared at him." What?"

"No paintball?"

"Paintball isn't something we can arrange in such short notice."

"And this is?" The look Honzo gave indicated how skeptical he was. "Can you get lunches for everybody prepared for tomorrow as well as everything else?"

"Yes... I actually can."

"_You shouldn't make promises you don't think you can keep._" The voice wasn't Hyorinmaru's.

"We'll meet at the east gate at nine in the morning." Two teal eyes watched the other children as Toshiro's apprehension grew. He wished he had a clipboard in his arms like Nanao always did, or even better yet he wished Hyorinmaru's blade was with him. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "This isn't everybody in the club, is it?"

"No – duh. The other Quincy were too chicken to come." The purple haired girl's eyes blinked a couple of times.

"Hashi-san and I will handle the other students who didn't come."

Toshiro flinched at the confidence Hirotada showed. He turned his head to Yachiru. The young fukutaicho was bouncing up and down. "Kusajishi... I need you to tell the Shinigami that have missed the meeting. Just... make sure you get the message in time?" He watched as the small female took off in a pink blur. He let out a sigh as he wished for a clipboard to make a list on of things he now needed to do. "I didn't mean now."

"Is there anything else we need to talk about?" Honzo continued to glare at Toshiro causing the young taicho to feel more nervous.

"This room is rather full. I'm thinking that it isn't a good solution for what the club needs. On top of this it would be nice to have some nicer quarters that could be used for activities. I'll do up the paperwork."

"Speaking of paperwork..." Hanataro's voice caused the young taicho to look towards him. "When I submitted the paperwork... Isane Nanao told me that I couldn't be a sponsor as I'm a club member. We need to figure out who our sponsor will be."

Toshiro's teal eyes drifted over to Ichigo only to snap away. "_I'm not going to..._"

"I'll do it. I'll be your sponsor."

The young taicho turned his head back to look at the orange haired teen. "Kurosaki?"

"Unless of course I can't be due to not technically being a Shinigami."

Toshiro watched as those from the academy looked at him. The young taicho took a deep breath. "Kurosaki Ichigo is a Substitute Shinigami. That means he is from the world of the living."

"Wait... how is that possible?" Inaba shook his head. Shino opened her mouth to say something only to have Ryunosuke tug on her sleeve.

The young taicho took a deep breath. "All right. We'll meet tomorrow. I'll arrange for the lunches. Yamada will serve as our medic. Kurosaki is also our first official sponsor, so he'll be participating too in case anything happens."

"Wait..."

Toshiro turned to glare at the orange haired teen. "Also... I would like you to come up with ideas for the club. What kind of activities would you like to do?"

"Paintball!"

"Or experiences that you would like to have."

"Paintball!"

"And what things would make you feel comfortable in the club."

"My team beating everyone else at paintball!"

Toshiro's head turned to look at the purple haired female as the other children got up and left. He was quite sure they were grumbling about how badly he messed everything up. He took a deep breath as he looked at the female. "What is with you and paintball?"

"Didn't you have fun playing with me the other day?" The purple haired female spun on her heals and left the room.

"Wait..." The older female from the school stopped short. The two children turned their head to look at her. She waited until the only other person from the school left was the oldest male. "Hitsugaya Taicho..."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes widened. "Wait... nobody is supposed to know."

Hirotada cleared his voice. "I know because I make it my businessmen to know who the current leadership is in the Gotei Thirteen. Apparently Hashi-san knows because there is some sort of secret club that revolves around you at the school."

"Say what?" The color in Toshiro's face drained.

"It's been around since you started at the academy and has been keeping track of your achievements. You are the youngest Shinigami to ever go through the academy. You're the youngest captain and the youngest to ever achieve Bankai."

Toshiro pointed his finger at Ichigo. "No... the youngest to ever learn Bankai is Kurosaki. He was only sixteen when he learned. I was... at least twenty."

"Toshiro..."

The young Shinigami turned his head to look at the orange haired teen. "What?"

"I'm only younger then you in years. I'm older then you physically." Ichigo watched as Toshiro's entire body began to twitch. "I'm not calling you small. You're the physical age of my sisters and they're not small. They're not little kids either. Well... Yuzu still acts like a little kid, but then you know my dad."

"What does..." The young taicho took a deep breath. He turned to the female. "Hashi-san... there is something that you want to say to me?"

"There is a rumor at the club that a Quincy attacked you."

"That girl?" Toshiro's eyes widened. "No... she didn't attack me. She... we.. played. I guess that was what it was."

Ichigo let out a deep sigh before standing up as Miki looked at Toshiro with confusion. "Toshiro's mind doesn't work the way ours does. I honestly don't sense any for of animosity between the two either. He's not one to use the words play lightly either."

"Her words, not mine." The young taicho bristled up.

"Toshiro... those were the words you used the other day. I don't know why it was a form of play to you, but I do know you wouldn't call it that if you thought she was attacking you. Just understand that's not exactly the best way to play with people." Ichigo turned his head to look at Miki. "Does that answer your question?"

"I guess it does. For now that is." The girl bowed towards Toshiro. "You also need to know that the people who have been orchestrating the protest are apparently former members of the club. Do have a nice day Hitsugaya Taicho. If any of the other children make you feel uncomfortable, then please tell me or Yamaguchi-san. The head master ask that we do so."

Toshiro watched as they left. Ichigo let out a sigh. "So... that seemed to go well."

"Well... that went horribly."

"Toshiro... you did a good job." The orange haired teen switched subjects. "That also said... who were those kids from your district?"

"Terunori Inaba, Ishio Minoru and Kamoku Hana."

"I didn't ask for their names, I asked... wait... there are more then two?"

Toshiro turned his head to look at Ichigo. He swallowed as he saw the look of worry. "Don't worry about it."

"You seemed quite uncomfortable." Ichigo didn't stop like Toshiro wanted. "Come on... tell me the truth."

"Everybody from my village thinks I'm a monster."

"Hana-chan didn't seem to think so."

"Kamoku-san..." Toshiro paused before shaking his head. "When I was younger people ignored me. I was an untouchable when granny or Hinamori weren't around. Nobody spoke to me, nobody did anything with me."

"No wonder you have a confused sense of what play is." Ichigo shook his head at the young taicho.

"No. I mean..." The boy sighed.

"Something though is bothering you about this beyond just this."

Toshiro frowned. "_Something else is bothering me._" The boy shook his head before pausing as he realized something. "Perhaps it has to do with the fact I would have been a part of Terunori's group. I don't see why Terunori or Ishio would want to be my friends after all of these years. Not unless they find out I'm a captain. If they found that up, they'll try..."

The young taicho shook his head. "I really don't want to think about that."


	6. Sinking Into Sand

**Finding Friendship II  
>Earth Shattering<br>_Sinking Into Sand_**

"_I most certainly can handle this situation on my own._" The young taicho could feel the sweat on his skin as he tried to ignore the conversation that he and the orange haired teen just had. For some reason his stomach felt odd, and his hands couldn't stop holding onto his sleeves. His mouth also twisted up as his zampaktuo spirit's voice came in a muffled manner.

"_Young master... you're sure that you can handle this on your own? You are quite upset about what occurred at that meeting._"

"_That's because..."_ Toshiro swallowed as his mind thought of everything that had occurred only to shake it off. He twisted his head around to look at Ichigo who was still following him. He took a deep breath and quickened his step so that he ended up in the office.

Rangiku looked up from her desk. "Taicho... I will have your dinner ready in a few minutes." She watched as the young taicho stepped over to his desk. "Taicho... what are you doing?"

"I have some things I have to get done."

Ichigo stood in the doorway and leaned against the frame. The woman looked right at him as the corners of her mouth twisted down. "Ichigo... he does realize I'm not going to let him do any paperwork."

"Can it Rangiku. It's stupid Kid's Society business. I have to fill out a form for tomorrows activity, so if you could have it to the head captain by the end of today it would be appreciated."

"Toshiro..." The orange haired teen cleared his voice. "Shouldn't you be a bit more appreciative of Rangiku-san?"

"What? That is her job."

"Don't mind him Ichigo. He's always like this. You can also deliver the form."

"Now hold on..." The orange haired teen let out a sigh before heading over to the couch and plopping down. "Fine. I'll deliver the form by the time you're done. At least you're doing something productive."

Toshiro felt his shoulders tense at this comment, but his mind couldn't place why. Rangiku's head bent back down to the desk. "When you're done with that form head back to your room."

"Rangiku... I have other things to do. I have to make sure we have proper medical supplies, the lunches, a way to figure out groups." Toshiro's mouth suddenly felt dry as he looked at the form in front of him. "Lunches for... how many..." His head darted up with his bright teal eyes wide when he heard her chair scrape against the ground. "I've got to get... things done."

The woman walked over to the desk and twisted his chair around. "Taicho..."

"There is paperwork Rangiku, lunches, groupings, things..." The young taicho watched as Rangiku pulled her hand back, and then felt the slap across the cheek. Toshiro could feel his eyes dilate as his left hand came up to touch his cheek. He could also feel the corner of his eyes begin to water. His head had been jerked slightly to the side so he head to look at her out of the corners of his eyes. "What..."

"Taicho..."

Two small feet attempted to push the chair back, but her hands were firmly gripping the chair. The sound of Ichigo's own feet hitting the ground could be heard as he hurried over. "Rangiku-san!"

Rangiku's hands quickly moved to his shoulders and she began to physically shake him. "Taicho!"

Toshiro could see Ichigo grab the fukutaicho of the tenth's shoulder. "Rangiku! Knock it off! You're taking things to far!"

"To far?" The female turned to look at Ichigo. What ever look she gave him caused him to back away slightly. She then turned to her small taicho. A look of fear was in her eyes. "Taicho! Why do you always do this to yourself?" Toshiro blinked a couple of times in confusion. "Child... why can't you ask others for help when you need it? You don't need to do all of this on your own. I'll ask Hisagi Shuhei to make you kids lunches tomorrow, all right? I'll get others to put together the packages for the trip. I mean..." Rangiku paused as the young taicho's facial features twisted up. "What ever is the matter?"

"Don't you already take advantage of Hisagi enough as it is?"

"Taicho... he'll be fine with this. I'll fill out the paperwork. Don't you worry..."

The strange feeling in Toshiro's stomach suddenly went from a slight discomfort to a sharp pinching feeling. The young taicho's eyes went wide as one hand clapped onto his mouth, and the other clutched his stomach. He felt his feet hit the ground as his body moved to twist the chair around so that he could get at the trashcan beside his desk. The white haired child leaned over just as the color left his face and the contents of his stomach emptied into the wastebasket.

Both hands gripped the sides of the can then as his knees hit the wooden floor next to his desk as another spasm occurred. Rangiku's shadow fell over him, and even more color left his face as he tried to control what was going on. Instead of the loud, and angry voice he was expecting to hear he heard a sigh, and then a soft voice as the woman moved so that she was kneeling beside him. "Oh dear... I was afraid this would happen. You managed to over stimulate yourself, didn't you?"

Toshiro's eyes snapped shut as he swallowed trying to clear the dryness from his throat. His entire body shook as a chill suddenly came over his body. "I didn't... Matsumoto, I'm not sick. I don't have a fever."

"I know you don't have a fever. As I said, you over stimulated yourself." The woman's hand grabbed his arm to help him up from his position. A wave of dizziness caused him to stumble.

Ichigo's footsteps were head as the orange haired teen stepped around the back of both of the Shinigami of the tenth division. Toshiro felt himself lifted up off the ground, and the air escaped his lips from the surprise action. A small fist hit Ichigo in the chest with as much strength as he could muster. "Kurosaki! Put me down!"

"No... Rangiku's right about you over stimulating yourself." The substitute set Toshiro down onto the couch before grabbing a blanket nearby and wrapping it around the young taicho's shoulders. "You did do a good job today Toshiro."

"A good job." The young taicho felt the bags under his eyes as he looked up. His voice strained. "I didn't do a good job! The entire meeting was a complete failure. You saw what happened!"

"Yes. I did." Ichigo knelt down in front of Toshiro causing two bright teal eyes to blink a couple of times. "That meeting was way out of your comfort zone, wasn't it."

"_Outside of..._" The white haired child swallowed, and one foot slid forward. The way Ichigo looked at him made him feel uncomfortable. Two small boney hands gripped the couch so that the knuckles of said hands became white. The child's jaw also tensed up as he looked away. "Don't patronize me." The sudden sound of Ichigo moving caused him to look back up and see the look of disapointment on the orange haired teens face. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Yeah. I'm worried about you. You just puked in your office trashcan and are trying to tell me that I shouldn't bother taking an interest in your well being."

"That's not what..."

"That's what it sounded like." Ichigo's head turned towards Toshiro's desk as a shiver ran through Toshiro's body. "Hey... Rangiku-san... what are you doing?"

"I filling out the form for taicho."

A squeek escaped the young taicho's lips as he stood up. "_I need to do that myself. I can't..._" The child's knees buckled sending him back down to the couch as a chocking sound left his lips. He closed his eyes as his head fell forward. "Matsumoto..."

Ichigo stopped heading back towards the desk. "Toshiro..."

"It's..." The young taicho flopped onto his side as another couple of shivers racked his body.

"Ichigo... you were at the meeting so you know exactly what kind of activity they were planning. Help me figure this out will you, and take it to the head captain?"

Toshiro's eyes clenched tighter. "_This so isn't fair. Why is it that I can't be of any use to anyone?_" He could hear the sound of Ichigo and Rangiku whispering. He then heard the sound of Ichigo leaving while Rangiku stepped over to where he was. He felt his feet lightly picked up, and then felt her breath upon his cheek. His eyes opened. "I'm not sick."

"Not physically I think. That look on Ichigo's face says something major happened at that meeting. Care tell me."

The young taicho instead looked at the headboard and attempted to push himself up. "I need to..."

"You need to relax. I'm going to send a hell butterfly to ask Shuhei to stop by right now. He should come running."

Toshiro's eyes slowly closed as a groan escaped his lips. "_She's going to be using him again, isn't she?_"

"_What of it?_"

"_Wouldn't you normally be more concerned? In past conversations we've had we've both noted how much of a loser he was for doing what ever she wanted. She just ended up becoming lazier._"

"_This though is something for you. Isn't it different?_"

"_I don't think so..._" Ichigo's eyes opened as he heard Shuhei's voice.

"Rangiku-san... what is it that you need from me."

The fukutaicho of the tenth division adopted a bubbly tone of voice that was giddy, and sweet. "I need you to make up a bunch of bentos."

"_I wish she wouldn't use that damn voice. It sounds like a voice a mother would use. When she uses it for someone her own age..._"

"_Creepy..._"

"Rangiku-san..."

Toshiro's eyes blinked a couple of times before closing again. "_Good. Say no. Stand up to her._"

"What? You aren't going to say no?" The woman quickly shifted to her pouty voice.

"I'm not going to make bento for the Woman's Society. The last time..."

"It's not for the Woman's Society. It's for the Kid's Society." A period of silence came over the room. "What? You're not going to do it?" Rangiku clapped her hands together. "Please! I know I have asked a lot of favors for myself in the past. To be honest that was very self-centered of me. This though is a favor for taicho."

"That... wait. If this is a favor for your taicho then why isn't he asking me."

"_Because I think this is stupid. I can..._"

Hyorinmaru's voice snapped at the back of his head. "_You can't!_"

"Taicho has a major problem asking for help when he needs to."

Toshiro could feel himself chocking back his anger. He worked again at pushing himself up. "Ma..." His thin arms couldn't take his own weight and he collapsed back to the couch. A sound from the fukutaicho of the ninth division told him that Shuhei had in fact heard him. He could hear the male fukutaicho asking Rangiku what the matter was and the words "_over stimulated_" came out of her mouth again. A small hand reached up to tug the blanket over his head. "_Why does she have to do this?_"

"Hitsugaya Taicho? What kind of bentos do you want me to make?" The young taicho's body relaxed and he attempted to pull the blanket away. He saw Shuhei's fingers as they reached under to grab the edge. "Come on. Everybody wants the Kid's Society to succeed. What kind of bento do you want."

"Nutritious..." The word came out of the child's mouth without him realizing it.

"Nu..."

"_God. I'm such a burden to everybody._" Toshiro moved in an attempt to push himself up. "You don't..."

His eyes widened as he felt Shuhei's hands gently grasp his shoulders and pull him up into a sitting position. "Are you going to say I don't have to? Because..." The man paused as his eyebrows went down like the corners of his mouth did. His warm hands reached up to touch the boy's cheeks. "Hitsugaya Taicho..."

"I'm fine. I can get the bentos done." The young taicho's eyes darted away from the fukutaicho of the ninths eyes. "I mean... how hard is it to make rice porridge for all of the bentos."

"Rice porridge?" The man's facial features twitched.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Hitsugaya Taicho? Do you actually expect a bunch of kids to eat rice porridge?" The man looked over at Rangiku.

The look on Shuhei's face bothered the young taicho. A hand reached up and tugged on the man's sleeve. "Why are you mad at Matsumoto? I'm the one who said I'd make rice porridge." Toshiro flinched as the man's facial features changed – this time looking right at him. The boy swallowed. "What?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho. Your reiatsu is tanking. You need something to eat."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times before looking at his own fukutaicho. His head flopped slightly to one side. "Rice porridge?"

"Sure, I'll..."

"Rangiku-san!" The sharpness in Shuhei's voice caused the young taicho to jump and nearly wet himself. Shuhei moved away from Toshiro and began to have a heated discussion. The young taicho saw Rangiku tilt her head towards the trashcan only for Shuhei to shake his head. He reached for a piece of paper on the desk, and scribbled something down. When Rangiku read what was on the paper she made to protest only for Shuhei to make another sharp sounding remark.

Rangiku left then and Shuhei came over and knelt in front of him. "Rangiku-san says you ended up over stimulated today? What exactly ended up happening?"

Toshiro opened his mouth to say something, only to look away.


	7. Digitally Clueless

**Finding Friendship II  
>Earth Shattering<br>_Digitally Clueless_**

A blanket pulled over the head didn't prevent Karin from picking up on her twin's emotional state. The dark haired twin finally pushed the blanket away from her head as she let out a sigh of frustration. The time on the clock told her it was still early in the morning. One hand reached up to rub the back of her neck before swinging her feet out from under he covers. She headed to the bathroom and did her morning toiletries before heading down the stairs.

She plopped down onto the couch and turned on the television in an attempt to drown out her sister's frustrations. She felt a plop next to her and turned her head to see who it was. "Dad?"

"Couldn't sleep?"

"It's a little hard to do when Yuzu's dreaming about marrying our brother."

"I wonder if Kaien picked up on the fact I wanted to marry him."

The rather care free attitude her father had caused one of Karin's eyes to twitch and her hands to clench. "Dad... do I need to give you a beating?"

"I was joking!"

"I wasn't." Karin closed her eyes. "She isn't as bad as she used to be, but still..." The young Kurosaki twin felt her mouth twist up. "Wait... who is Kaien?"

"You should be calling him '_uncle_' Karin."

"Why? This wouldn't be for the same reason that creepy old man told me to call him uncle?"

"Oi... Kyoraku really actually is your uncle as he is _my_ uncle." Isshin's hand reached out to ruffle his daughters head.

Karin pushed away his hand and slid down. "So he's the person who you learned your stupid perverted behavior from?" The young teen heard a sound from her father indicating he had been caught at something. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "Really... you drive me crazy. You still haven't answered who this other uncle is."

"This other uncle was my twin." Isshin pulled his hand away and set it into his lap with his other. He continued to speak when Karin's head turned to look at him out of curiosity. "Think of him as someone with the same personality as Ichigo, but with your ability to sense what others are feeling. Ichigo also looks like him too, except Kaien had my hair color. His eyes were like the ocean too."

The corner of Karin's mouth twitched. "Dad? Are you sure you weren't crushing on him at one time?"

"No. We did end up acting like a married couple though when we were younger." Isshin looked up to see the upset look on Karin's face. "We didn't have much choice as our parents died and we had two younger siblings who still needed parental figures. I took on the father role, he took on the mother role. The whole marrying thing was just something Miyako and I cooked up to rile him until he finally admitted his feelings for her."

"You miss him, don't you?"

"That obvious is it?" Isshin let out a laugh before folding his arms behind his head. "You're named after him you know. It's a tradition in my family to name a female child after their uncle. Shoot... I came in here trying to cheer you up. Failed just like I always did with him."

"I don't really need cheering up." Karin looked up at the ceiling. She continued to let the television go in the background as her father simply sat there. Yuzu eventually came down the stairs and stared at the two. Karin turned her head to look at her twin. "It's all right Yuzu. Neither one of us could sleep."

"Are you worried about your boyfriend?" The lighter haired twin's eyes were wide with innocence.

"Sheesh... we're not boyfriend and girlfriend Yuzu." The darker haired twin twisted her head around to look at her father as she sensed some kind of amusement. "Don't even think it old man. Yuzu... can you fix breakfast and our lunches quicker? Dad's being abnormally obnoxious today."

"He is?" Yuzu headed back up the stairs. "I'll go and get changed. You should too Karin."

The dark haired twin's eyes closed as she tried to block off the feelings she felt coming off both of her family members. Despite her best effort she couldn't shake off the angst ridden mood Yuzu kept giving off until the girl saw her friends at school. She headed to her classroom and things went well until lunch time. A giggling sound didn't make her look up from her meal, but a shadow falling over her desk did in fact cause her to let out a sigh.

"What are you doing here Yukio?" Karin turned her head to see that the teen was fiddling with one of his electronic devices. "You know... if a teacher catches you with that they'll take it away from you."

"They don't care so long as I turn in my school work and make good grades." The teen continued to fiddle at the device.

The darker haired Kurosaki twin looked away. "Says the guy who has a reputation around school for flunking. Seriously... you should be two grades ahead of me, not just one."

"I simply didn't give a..."

Karin ground her teeth as the explicative left his mouth. Her fingers tapped the desk in front of her. "Seriously though... why are you at school. You could if you wanted take a test to actually get into your grade."

"I'm debating whether I want to be in the same grade as you and him."

The young female leaned on her elbow and tried looking away. "_I wish he would just leave me to eat my lunch in piece._"

"_You know he isn't going to do that._"

"You do realize that Toshiro doesn't even go to this school? So what you say makes no sense. Plus... having someone fail just to be in the same grade as you is damn creepy."

"Why is that?"

Karin felt one of her eyes twitch. "Seriously... you're two years older then me."

"I don't exactly want to be in the same grade as you."

The young Kurosaki female blinked a couple of times before letting out an annoyed sound. "Let me guess. You want to fail so you can go to class with Toshiro? He doesn't even go to this school."

"He'd go if he came to the world of the living."

"How does..." Karin slammed her hands down. "Change of subject here as it is important... why aren't you with Toshiro? I thought I asked you to check in on him because you can."

Yukio stopped fiddling with his game and looked up. "Toshiro is doing fine. He's actually left his room. I had a meeting, he had a meeting. That's it."

"So in other words you skipped morning classes and decided to come to school specifically to bug me."

"I can't exactly go and bug Toshiro as he's at that meeting for the Let's Make Friends With Quincy Brigade."

"The what?" Karin shook her head. "_Seriously... I can't eat while he is here. Plus everyone is staring. I'm just glad I'm sitting by myself._"

"They call it the Shinigami Kid's Society. I call it the Let's Make Friends With Quincy Brigade, or losers for short."

"You do know that loser isn't an acronym for that."

"I don't care if it is. Quincy's are losers."

"And yet you left him to deal with a group of people you don't like on his own?"

"Why not?" Yukio's comment caused Karin's eyebrow to twitch. The young fullbringer finally noticed the silence, and looked up from his game. "You aren't one of those people who assumes that I and Toshiro can't handle social situations."

Two dark eyebrows went up as Karin's mouth twisted into a deeper frown. "Yukio... I've watched you in social situations. You typically make people very uncomfortable."

"It's not my fault they're stupid."

Karin opened her mouth to say, "_Sometimes you make Toshiro uncomfortable,_" or "_do you think I'm stupid?_", but thought better of it. Instead she leaned back and crossed her arms wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible so she could go back to eating her lunch. A different tactic was needed. "Toshiro's not like you. He's not comfortable with social situations at all."

She watched as his hands stopped pushing the buttons on his game. "Is Toshiro even uncomfortable around me?"

"I don't know of anybody Toshiro isn't uncomfortable interacting with. That doesn't though make him stupid."

The game in Yukio's hand lowered as the perpetual emotionless look on his face finally showed some sign of emotion. "I don't understand. Toshiro is like me. There is no reason for him to be uncomfortable around other people."

Karin looked away. "You know how you're an abandoned child? How your parents abandoned you?"

"I'm not..."

The dark haired Kurosaki twin interrupted him before he said something the entire class could say as well as before he did something like stick her into one of his games. "Toshiro's situation is worse. Instead of just being abandoned by his parents..." Karin swallowed before continuing her statement. "... he was abandoned by his entire villiage. The only person who never abandoned him from the place he grew up until Matsumoto-san found him was his granny. Even his foster sister eventually abandoned him."

"Do his parents count?" Yukio looked away from Karin and leaned up against the teacher's desk.

"What do you mean do his parents count?"

"I just remembered that Hanataro person told me Toshiro never knew his parents."

"So?"

"If they did abandon him then I am glad he never got to know them." Yukio's hands clutched the edge of the teacher's desk as well as his game.

"Yukio... did you really just remember, or did you conveniently forget?"

"Toshiro didn't like the subject when it was brought up." Yukio pushed the power button on his game and slipped it into his jacket. His hands also went into the pockets as well. "Explain to me something as I do not understand. Why is it that he simply doesn't care? I know that I didn't care what happened to my parents."

"Did you really not care?"

"They locked me up in a room by myself."

"So you pretty much had no social contact except for them?"

"Until I ran away... yes."

"But you wouldn't like it if the social connections you have developed were taken away, right?"

"I didn't like it when I had to separate from the other fullbringer recently. I didn't like the fact three of them died. I wouldn't have liked it had I found out Toshiro died either. I don't know why though. I don't care about developing social connections"

"Take that feeling and multiply it by ten. Add to this the fact Toshiro hasn't just lost people he cared about because they died, or came close to dieing either. I'm not exactly sure _what_ happened between him and his foster sister, but the few times she has come up... I can tell that something drastic happened between them. There is more, but I think I've told you as much as I should."

"Do I annoy you?"

Karin blinked a couple of times. She could feel her voice strained as she tried to avoid the answer. "Where did that come from?"

"You said I make people uncomfortable, and then I said that was because they were stupid. You're not stupid though."

"Are you asking me because you want my honest opinion Yukio?"

"Yes. I feel you would give it."

"I don't dislike you, but you do have a bad habit of making me uncomfortable at times. I can't read you like other people because you typically lack any kind of emotion, and the few times you do show emotion it's drastic. That's hard on me because I am actually very sensitive to peoples emotions."

"What about Toshiro?"

"What about him?"

"What kind of emotions do you pick off of him? Does he also lack any kind of emotion? I would think he would be lacking emotions like myself."

"No. Toshiro is not without emotions. It's the exact opposite actually. I don't know how many people have met the _real_ Toshiro as..." Karin let out a sigh. "Look... I've already told you too much about this subject."

"Should I learn to feel emotions? Would that make people feel less uncomfortable around me?"

Another sigh left her lips. "No... I think you need to learn to read other people's emotions as well as how to socially interact with people." She watched as his mouth opened. "Did you really have meeting today?"

Yukio looked away. "It was done via video chat. It's easier to interact with people that way. Things were easier when Kutsuzawa was around." He turned back to her. "I need to go. There are things I need to do."

"Does this include not abandoning Toshiro to deal with these Quincy on his own?"

The young fullfringer opened his mouth to say something. "I don't like how I feel when I kept thinking about him going to that meeting on his own. There is something I've got to do in order to make up for that. If anyone asks I'll be missing classes again. I'll e-mail my assignments to the teacher, and if there are tests I'll show up."

Karin blinked once and he was gone. "_Seriously... I'm not your __messenger__ Yukio._"

**M**

Riruka tapped her pencil against her school desk as she listened to the teacher drone on about things she couldn't care about. School was honestly the last place she wanted to be. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of one of the girls glaring at her. "_The feeling is mutual. I don't want to be friends either. All of the girls here are so stuck up._"

A knock came at the classroom door causing the teacher to step over and slide the door open. He spoke for a few minutes with whoever was on the other side of the door. Riruka's pencil stopped tapping at her desk top when the teacher stared at her. "Ms. Dokugamine... you're needed in the office. You're asked to bring your things with you as well._"_

"_Thank goodness. I couldn't honestly stand to be in this stuffy place anymore._" The teenager stretched her hands forward to release the tension in her shoulders. She then packed her bag. She walked with a bounce in her step as she headed to the office. The door opened up, and her mouth opened to ask what she had been called to the office for. Her face fell when she saw the familiar face. "Yukio..." The young man looked up from his game without offering a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick you up." The teen brushed past her as if nothing strange was going on.

"That's not what I meant." Riruka spun on her heals. She followed close behind him only to stop and fold her arms across her chest. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh?" Yukio twisted his head around so that he could see her. "I can actually take care of that."

Riruka's eye twitched as did the corner of her mouth as realization ht her. The next thing she knew she was looking up at the gamer freak. "Yukio! Let me out of this damn game!"

"Nope."

"Seriously... why now?"

"I'm learning to be sociable."

"Say what?" Riruka let out an irritated sound. "I wouldn't call this socializing."

"We will be."

"And what about school? I wouldn't actually be in school if you weren't paying for it."

"Need I remind you that you would be on the streets if I hadn't payed for your schooling and lodging? You couldn't find a job."

"Are you going to hold that over me again? Who says I want to get my diploma and work for your company you moron!" Riruka stomped her foot. "Plus! What about school? And my luggage?"

Yukio raised a finger and pointed behind her. "I already packed the things I thought you would need. They may be though mixed in with my stuff."

"You broke into my apartment!"

"As for school... I arranged for your assignments and tests to be e-mailed to you until we finish what we have to do."

"Yukio! You idiot! I am going to kill you when I get out of here!"


	8. Cracked Eggshells

**Finding Friendship II  
>Earth Shattering<br>_Cracked Eggshells_**

A clattering sound was heard as Shuhei fell out of the chair as two honey brown eyes blinked at him. The male fukutaicho of the ninth division blinked a couple of times before snapping out a reply. "Kuna Fukutaicho! Don't do that!"

The female fukutaicho of the division leaned farther over his desk managing to knock over a few more items. "You have a hell butterfly Shu-Shu-kun."

The young man glared at his co-lieutenant as the corners of his mouth twisted down. He carefully lifted the chair up while continuing to give Mashiro the same look. "Seriously..."

Kensei looked up from his desk. "Please tell me that message isn't from that woman?"

"That woman?" Shuhei held out his finger to let the insect light on his finger. His eyes widened and a smile spread across his face while Mashiro flipped over onto her back knocking over a few more items from her co-lieutenant's desk. "Yes. It is from Matsumoto Fukutaicho. She wishes for me to come help her with something."

"Wuss..."

The smile quickly left his face. He could also feel his throat tightening. "Excuse me... sir?"

"You let that woman walk all over you despite the fact you know she's never going to be over him." Kensei leaned back folding his arms across his chest.

"What do you suggest I do?" Shuhei felt his throat tighten even more.

"Stand up for yourself dummy." Mashiro's arms flopped over so they were hanging over the other side of the desk.

"You know... Kuna Fukutaicho... I didn't ask you." The male fukutaicho of the ninth took a deep breath hoping that the taicho of the ninth would give him an answer. When none came he let out a sigh. "If you don't need me I'll be off."

"_They aren't wrong you know. The way you let that woman walk all over you is irritating. I really want to slit her throat._"

"_Shut up._" When he arrived in the tenth division his nose wrinkled up.

"_I smell puke._"

"_Seriously... shut up._" The fukutaicho of the ninth folded his arms across his chest and smiled at the busty female. "Rangiku-san... what is it that you need from me."

"I need you to make up a bunch of bentos."

"_Oi... dummy... do you remember what happened the last time you made bentos for the Woman's Society? Ise Nanao said they were plain._"

Hisagi could feel the corner of his mouth twitch. "Rangiku-san..." He watched as the woman in question did her usual routine. Even after mentioning the woman's society she didn't stop, but instead became more pushy. "_Pushy? She's not been pushy before._"

"_She didn't have to. She would just bat her pretty little eyes and you would do anything. That's the way you are._"

"This is a favor for taicho."

"That..." Shuhei blinked a couple of times while his fingers tightened around his arms. "_Hitsugaya Taicho's not one to normally ask for favors, and when he does..._" The fukutaicho of the ninth looked around. "That... wait. If this is a favor for your taicho then why isn't he asking me."

"Taicho has a major problem asking for help when he needs to."

"_Accurate explanation... where is..._" A sound caused the dark haired fukutaicho to turn his head towards the couch. His eyes blinked a couple of times as he looked at the small figure on the couch. "Rangiku-san... what ever is the matter with your taicho?"

"He... well..." Rangiku's hesitation caused him to turn back to look at her. "Apparently he became over stimulated at the Shinigami Kid's Society meeting."

Shuhei twisted his head back around and noticed that the white head of hair had disappeared. His arms dropped to his sides as he stepped over to the couch. Each step was taken with care not to make to much noise. "_I'd heard rumors that he wasn't doing well, but this? I'll go ahead and make the bentos. Rangiku is right about him not asking for help when he needs it. "Hitsugaya Taicho? What kind of bentos do you want me to make?"_

A laugh came from his zampaktuo spirit. "_That kid sure is embarrassed by what she said to you._"

The man reached for the cover and gave it a tug so that he could see the young taicho. "Come on. Everybody wants the Kid's Society to succeed. What kind of bento do you want."

"Nutritious..."

"Nu..." Shuhei blinked a couple of times. "_What kid wants nutritious food? Even I know they want stuff that tastes yummy._" He watched as Toshiro tried moving to a sitting position and speaking. His hands shot out to gently grab the boy's shoulders without realizing it. He then lifted him up into a sitting position. "Are you going to say I don't have to? Because..."

"_Don't you feel it? That feeling that you felt? His reiatsu's tanking. Kid's running out of energy._"

His two hands reached out to touch the young captain's cheeks and felt how cold they were. "Hitsugaya Taicho."

Toshiro avoided eye contact them. "I'm fine. I can get the bentos done. I mean... how hard is it to make rice porridge for all of the bentos?"

"Rice porridge?" Shuhei could feel the corner of his mouth twitch. "_I know he said he wanted nutricious food, but that is ridiculous. What kind of kid would eat __that__ when there are plenty of other things?_" He watched as the child taicho reacted in a negative manner again. He then looked at Rangiku. "_Doesn't she realize his reiatsu is tanking_?_"_

Toshiro of course took this the wrong way and tugged at his sleeve. Confusion was all over his face. "What?"

"Hitsugaya Taicho. Your rieatsu is tanking. You need something to eat." He watched as the young taicho turned to Rangiku and asked for rice porridge. He stood up and walked aside to speak to her in a whispered tone. "_What_ do you think you're doing?"

The woman blinked a couple of times. "What do you mean?"

"You were just going to go and make him rice porridge?"

Rangiku pocked him in the chest hard. Her tone of voice changed from her usual flirtatious self. "Besides the fact my taicho just puked a few minutes ago in his trash can..."

"_Told you I smelled puke._"

"...that is something he will eat. It is practically one of the few things he will eat."

"I _get_ the fact you want him to have something light because his stomach is upset, but there is a down side to giving him a straight carbohydrate at this point in time."

"Excuse me?" Rangiku's facial features twitched. "I _know _how to take care of taicho." She also titled towards the trashcan. "I don't need that again."

Shuhei shook his head before grabbing a piece of paper and writing down some things. He handed her the paper. "Just get me these items."

"Are you crazy?"

"Not as crazy as you are trying to give him a carbohydrate. He'll get his rieatsu levels back up only for them to crash soon after."

"You.."

"... aren't budging." He watched as Rangiku spun on her heals.

"_You pissed her off._"

"_I know more about nutrition then she does._" Shuhei's head tilted towards Toshiro. "_Seriously... what has she been feeding him? It's no wonder he hasn't grown like he should._"

"_She did say that he's a picky eater. Then again... she's not a good cook either._"

A sigh left the mouth of the fukutaicho as he walked over to kneel in front of the child taicho. He could see that Toshiro was shivering slightly and wasn't completely focused. Thus his question went unanswered. He stood up and headed over to where Rangiku's desk was and opened the drawer. A smirk spread across his face as he saw the few chocolates. He quickly unwrapped the piece and headed over to the young taicho.

The chocolate slipped into the boy's mouth only to stop when Toshiro attempted to push it out with his tongue. Shuhei's hand clamped down over his mouth. "No... you need to eat it even though you may not like the taste."

He watched as the child's look of confusion deepened, and breathed a sigh of relief when Toshiro complied. He went back to the desk and got another and repeated the process. A little of the color returned to the young taicho's face. Rangiku came through the door and set a box down onto the table with a thud. "I seriously hope you know what you're doing!"

The man sighed before looking back at her. "The chocolate I gave him is already working."

He stood up to look at the contents inside of the box while Rangiku blinked at him. Her mouth twisted up into a frown. "_What_ chocolate?"

"From your desk." Shuhei began to pull items out of the box and set them onto the coffee table. "You actually got more then I needed."

"You didn't exactly tell me how much I needed to get." Rangiku crossed her arms against her ample chest. "He _ate_ chocolate?"

The head of the darker haired fukutaicho jolted up as the corners of his mouth twisted down. "Don't tell me he's allergic."

"No..." The woman's voice strained. "You _forced_ him to eat chocolate. I _never_ force him to eat something he doesn't want to eat."

The sound of a person's feet skidding on the wooden floor was heard causing both fukutaicho to look up at Ichigo. "Rangiku-san? Is something the matter?"

"Kurosaki... could you open up the windows and doors to the office? I can't use the camp stove I asked Rangiku to get me unless I have ventilation."

Ichigo stared for a few minutes and went to work opening up the windows. Shuhei on the other hand organized the ingredients on the coffee table. A young voice from nearby spoke up. "Hisagi... we're not going to be able to cook during the event tomorrow. We need already prepared meals."

"This isn't for tomorrow. I'm actually fixing you something to eat right now Hitsugaya Taicho as you need something to eat."

The orange haired teen finished his task and leaned over the back of his couch. Ichigo's arms wrapped gently around Toshiro's small shoulders. "What are you making?"

"Rice omelet." Shuhei carefully watched the others in the room as he went to work preparing the dish. Rangiku glared at him while Toshiro looked on with curiosity that eventually became confusion and a slight revolution. Ichigo was of course curious about the steps Shuhei took. The dark haired fukutaicho finally looked him in the eye. "Haven't you ever cooked anything for yourself Kurosaki?"

Ichigo looked away. "I've been banned from kitchen and clinic duties. Apparently when I was younger I had a penchant for fires and explosions that I may not have grown out of."

A frown appeared on the male fukutaicho's face. "You sound like a member of the Shiba clan. I don't know of a member that doesn't have some kind of penchant explosions." He slipped the rice omelet onto the plate before drawing the kanji for the tenth division onto the omelet. "It's really to bad the clan's been disavowed."

Shuhei held the plate out to Toshiro. He watched as the young taicho shook his head. "Uh-uh."

Ichigo looked down at the young taicho. "What ever is the matter Toshiro?"

"An omelet with rice in it... no."

"I told you he wouldn't eat it. Now can I go and make him some rice porridge."

The dark haired fukutaicho felt his mouth twitch. He set the plate down on his lap before taking a fork to cut up a piece. With his free hand he reached out to grab the young taicho's nose. This caused Toshiro's mouth to open up allowing him to stick the spoonful of food into the boy's mouth. He then moved his hand down to clamp over the boy's mouth so he couldn't spit it out. "Chew and swallow. Then tell me what you think."

"Hisagi Shuhei!" Rangiku's voice rose. "I told you I don't force taicho to eat things he doesn't want to eat."

Toshiro's eyes blinked a couple of times before he began to chew the food. He then swallowed and Shuhei pulled his hand away. Two teal eyes looked down at the rest of the plate, and a small hand reached out only to shake uncontrollably. The young taicho's eyes revealed that he wasn't yet sure about the dish. "Here..."

"Hisagi..."

"Rangiku-san... he's not doing anything wrong." One of Ichigo's hands raised up. "Can I use your equipment to try and make myself one?"

"Sure. Knock yourself out." Shuhei watched as the young taicho carefully chewed the second bite in a thoughtful manner. "So?"

Toshiro's mouth twisted up as his eyes looked down at the ground. His toes wiggled in his tabi socks while his hands twisted up into fists. A bit of red appeared on his face. Rangiku let out a sigh. "Taicho... if you didn't like it."

"No. Um... if some of the members of the Shinigami Kid's Society wanted to learn to cook... would you be willing to teach them."

A frown twisted across Shuhei's face. "_Well... I guess that is a compliment._"

"_I don't think he was really asking you to teach a cooking class for the Shinigami Kid's Society."_

"_No. I don't think he was either._" A smile spread across the dark haired fukutaicho's face. "Hitsugaya Taicho. Would you like me to teach you how to cook?"

He watched as the young taicho looked up. His teal eyes were wide as well as extra bright. "Really? I mean... could … I mean..."

"Yeah. I'd love to teach you to cook for yourself." Shuhei turned to look at Rangiku. The look of shock on the woman's face honestly felt pleasing. "That is alright with you Matsumoto Fukutaicho."

"Yes... it is." Rangiku moved over to sit by her young taicho. Her hand took the plate from Shuhei as well as the fork. She watched as her young taicho began to protest. "Taicho... let's get your rieatsu back up. Then you can finish eating this yourself."

A frustrated sound came from the orange haired teen. "Shoot. I messed up."

Shuhei looked over at Ichigo whose attempt at rice omelet turned into a major mess. "How did you... never mind. At least you didn't burn it. And it is edible. I think..."


End file.
